Events in Yemen feature in talks between Assembly President and Nobel laureate

The President of the General Assembly and Nobel laureate Tawakkul Karman have discussed developments in her native Yemen during a meeting at United Nations Headquarters, as well as the wider pro-reform movement across the Middle East and North Africa.

During their meeting on Friday, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser congratulated Ms. Karman, a journalist and pro-democracy activist who shared this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.

He hailed her as “a global symbol of women’s empowerment who has brought honour and pride to all women, especially in the Arab world,” according to a read out provided by the President’s spokesperson.

For months, top UN officials have been voicing growing concern about the human rights and humanitarian conditions inside Yemen, where hundreds of people have died since mass protests against the Government began early this year.

The uprising in Yemen is part of a wider pro-democracy movement across the region, dubbed the “Arab Spring,” that began at the start of this year and has already toppled long-standing regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Separately, Mr. Al-Nasser and the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Paulo Portas, discussed the role of Portugal, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, at the UN.

They also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, Iran, the Palestinian issue and the latest developments in Syria and Yemen during the meeting at UN Headquarters today.